Role: Director

My name is Andres F. Diaz, and I am an MD/PhD student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson. I was born in Medellin, Colombia and moved to the United States with my family at the age of 11. I am passionate about oncology and public health work and hope to incorporate both to address health disparities in cancer care. As an underrepresented individual in medicine, I am particularly moved by health advocacy for migrants, refugees, and underrepresented peoples. I am also interested in health literacy and writing. As Student Editor of The New Physician, I work diligently with Pete Thompson and his staff to create a publication that is approachable, enlightening, and useful for readers and contributors alike. I am looking forward to working with AMSA leadership and members to advocate for health equity, education, and medical excellence.

Rohini is a 4th year medical student at Eastern Virginia Medical School going into OBGYN or Internal Medicine (Women’s health track). She joined AMSA in 2017 as a Medical Master Pre-Med student and honed her skills in advocacy. She is passionate about women’s health issues and policy ranging from anti-human trafficking efforts to reproductive justice. She has been one of the Co-Chairs for Just Medicine Campaign and is excited to serve as President elect this upcoming year.

She hopes to use this year to get acclimated with the role of President elect, work closely with all the Board Members, and develop her advocacy skills further. She wants to continue working on medical education reform especially in trauma informed care and interventions, reproductive justice, and public health policies.

In her free time, Rohini loves working on her micro art, hiking, and baking.

Bio coming soon

Jamie Thayer Scates serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the largest, independent student medical association. In this role, Jamie focuses on mapping the vision, strategy, funding and growth plans for the global organization. She heads up partner development with foundations, nonprofits, and social enterprises; builds networks; and coalesces teams.

Spurred by an unwavering belief that change is possible—that healthcare can be reimagined to better serve all people—Jamie brings a special kind of pragmatic idealism to the table. She is quick to see the bigger picture, to push edges and to envision strategies that are both bold and sustainable. Her lead-by-example work ethic is inspiring; AMSA’s governance, staff and partners rise to meet high expectations on timely, relevant and meaningful issues.

During Jamie’s 10 years with AMSA, new partnerships have been crystallized, profits have increased, new revenue streams have been tapped, and the staff is reinvigorated. Her most recent accomplishments include the launch of the Institutional Partnership Program and a significant financial turnaround for the organization.

Outside of AMSA, Jamie serves on the Board of Directors for the Academic Medical Professionals Insurance Risk Retention Group, LLC. For the past three years she has served as a scholarship judge for Phi Theta Kappa’s Spring Scholarship Application competition, which awards nearly $300,000 to more than 250 students. She is a graduate of Seth Kahan’s Visionary Leadership Academy.

When she’s not blazing new paths for AMSA, you can find Jamie advocating for economic, social and environmental justice in other ways—as an involved citizen, curious globe-trotter, training in Brazilian jiu jitsu, supermom to two beautiful children, and wife to an amazing (and, obviously, supportive) husband.

James M. (Jim) Slayton has served in many AMSA roles during his career, including National President (1989-1990) and Foundation Board of Directors member and President (2002-2012, 2014-2016).  He has been a senior Medical Director with Optum Behavioral Health since 2004 and in serves in a quality improvement oversight position related to potential fraud, waste and abuse in healthcare.  He is a former associate residency training director and has continued in a teaching role with the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School.  He is a graduate of Brown University, Stanford Medical School and Harvard Business School.  He is an avid choral musician and cellist, and is the proud father of three children with his husband, Phillip Hernandez, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Michael is a 4th year medical student at Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine going into Emergency Medicine. He joined AMSA in 2014 as a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and began growing his passion for health policy and advocacy. This is his 5th year in a national leadership role, having served as Medical Education and Professionalism coordinator, regional director, VPPD, and Med Ed Scorecard Chair.

Michael has a particular interest in healthcare access, especially among migrant populations, addiction medicine, community medicine, and medical education and plans to integrate all of these into his future practice. With AMSA, he hopes to expand membership, work with chapters on local advocacy, and helping AMSA garner more national attention.

In his free time, Michael enjoys hiking with his dog, beer tasting, rock climbing, and anything Star Wars related.

Isaiah A. Cochran, M.D. serves as a key organizational spokesperson for AMSA and active promoter of the organization’s educational programming, advocacy pursuits and membership recruitment and engagement efforts.

In addition to serving as an AMSA board member since 2016, Cochran also has held leadership positions with Refugee Student Alliance and Global Health Initiative.

He earned his medical degree from the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. During that time, he engaged in research at Dayton Children’s Hospital to identify incidental brain tumors in otherwise healthy children undergoing routine evaluations for head trauma.

He also investigated if early cognitive markers exist in infants prior to the diagnostic age of 24 months and if they can be utilized to differentiate between males and females with ASD for a study conducted at the Department of Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.